Until Congress decides on the cost of living increases, there is no verifiable 2010 pay scale. The closest thing is the 2009 data found on the opm.gov website.

A note of caution. There really isn’t a pay scale since many localities are paid at different rates based upon cost of living. The GS scale only applies to the areas where there are few government employees.

Is it
(a) step increases? (Hard to believe; these are small but generally unpreventable)
(b) quality step increases (again small but it takes action by the supervisor to get one)
(c) grade increases? (not just action by the supervisor but also the supervisor’s supervisor, personnel, et al.)
(d) promotions to Senior Executive Service?